the importance of identity and vision to ux designers on agile projects
DESCRIPTION
Talk, Agile2009 conference in Chicago. Exploring a UX perspective on agile. Based on MSc project research, University College London, 2008.TRANSCRIPT
Agile 2009Johanna Kollmann, Helen Sharp & Ann Blandford
The importance of identity and visionto UX designers on agile projects
@johannakoll
Introduction
Research method
Results & Analysis
Conclusion
Introduction
Research method
Results & Analysis
Conclusion
Waterfall doesn‘t work for me.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/shadphotos/1312528502/
Agile & UX - a perfect match?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/laurenbennett/3819786633/
Methods & techniques
Working ahead
Using lightweight tools
Adapting agile methods
Integrating communities
UX designers as active participants
Risks and opportunities of collaboration
So how do they play it?
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Introduction
Research method
Results & Analysis
Conclusion
Qualitative approach
Interviews
Contextual observation
Interview outline
Understanding of agile
Methods & tools
End user involvement
Collaboration & work environment
Interview participants
in-house
freelancedigital agency
UX consultancy
Observations
One interaction designer
In-house team Explore and revise interview analysis
Introduction
Research method
Results & Analysis
Conclusion
Results & Analysis
Interview analysis
Observation insights Discussion
Results & Analysis
Interview analysis
Observation insights Discussion
Identity
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An agile mindset
Agile is a way of thinking
“I guess my first impression of agile was that it's a framework, but it definitely affects your way of thinking, in a kind of philosophical sense in some respect....
“...so that the way that we approach tasks or problems or things within the brief are fundamentally different from how we would approach them in awaterfall manner.” – P4
An agile mindset
A way of thinking
Flexibility and sufficiency
“I don't ever believe in the right products, it's never gonna be right. I think that sits at the core of agile mentality. Which is actually good in some ways, but it's kind of counter-intuitive design mentality.” - P8
An agile mindset
A way of thinking
Flexibility and sufficiency The smarter approach
“It's very important for us as UX designers and creatives to be able to talk and feedback and find better ways to work with developers, because that's inherently the problem.” – P6
Roles & responsibilities
Communication hub
Roles & responsibilities
Communication hub
Blending of roles
“It's blending it all together. Equally developers need to be more skilled at design. As not to say they should do design, I should do code, but we need to be able to speak each others language. ” – P2
Roles & responsibilities
Communication hub
Blending of roles
End user advocate
“Essentially I was advocate for the user (...) I was an advisor, a sort of a consultant within the team on UX issues.” – P5
Vision
“It’s not only about understanding users, but also about understanding clients: If you don't get your foundation right, it's dangerous.” - P6
Participants found it challenging to establish, evaluate and develop the UX vision
Interim sprint zeros: “(...) time to make sure that we are happy from a user perspective, that things are getting done in the right way and everything's prioritised correctly”. - P4
The risk of losing the UX vision was named as a big disadvantage of agile
Pro: agile facilitates communicating and protectingthe UX vision.
Integrating the end user perspective
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“Fitting user research in is the hardest thing.” - P8
Strategies to include end users
Working ahead: up-front research
Satellite designer: outsourcing research
Just do it: lightweight research
“I think there are so many problems to solve that we don't really need to get tied up in how methodologically sound it is. It comes down to being a sensible researcher.” - P7
Results & Analysis
Interview analysis
Observation insights Discussion
Identity
Team mindset
Impact of organisational structure and perception of UX
Pros and cons of being a communication hub
Vision
The importance of a shared team vision
Collaboration tools: the question board
“It shows where what team members think is important clashes, so it facilitates discussion. And it helps to find out who to talk to about things.” - Backend developer
Results & Analysis
Interview analysis
Observation insights Discussion
UX practitioners’ attitude towards agile matters. A lot.
Benefit of agile: co-location and collaboration facilitate bridging the gap and overcoming silos.
If the UX team is too small or not structured appropriately, user-centredness is the first thing that’s compromised.
Sprint zero is not sufficient to establish a vision. To guide strategic decisions and activities, user research has to take place before agile development starts.
Introduction
Research method
Results & Analysis
Conclusion
Implications for practitioners (1)
Become a design facilitator and active participant
Align UX team members around a clear vision and make sure your project‘s vision is clear, too
Implications for practitioners (2)
Consider user panels, test no matter what, combine evaluative and generative research Explore lightweight methods and agile tools
Use interim sprint-zeros to reflect on and refine your vision
Areas for future research
Impact of co-location (or the lack of it)
Exploration of different environments and contexts (e.g. in-house vs. freelancers, web vs. mobile applications)
Agile 2009Johanna Kollmann, Helen Sharp & Ann Blandford
The importance of identity and visionto UX designers on agile projects